Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny
by Tigress of the Moon
Summary: AU. Sei/OC Sei's on the edge of suicide when he accidentally runs-quite literally-into a girl that he realizes is far worse off than he is. In an attempt to save her life, he alters his own forever, and creates a new frienship. But what will Shiori think
1. Chapter 1: Loosing my Grip

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Disclaimer & A/N: I don't own the series MARS or any of it's characters, they're property of Fuyumi Soryo, Tokyopop, and so forth. I do own Tomo Shiru, though, she is of my own creation. This fanfic was written w/o reading past book 4 and only reading summaries, so if it isn't right, I'm sorry. Besides, it's an alternate universe fic, anyway! Sei and Rei are still in Jr. high, by the way. Well, enjoy! [Also, this disclaimer applies to the rest of the fanfic as well. K? K. Byes.]  
  
Chapter 1: Losing My Grip  
  
Little by little, Sei felt himself slipping. Things just kept being piled on top of him, and it had now gotten to the point where he didn't know if he had the strength to push everything off again.  
  
Ever since Rei had started racing motorcycles, Sei had been resting on a very fine edge between stable and unstable. Every time Rei mounted a bike, Sei got cold chills-shivers down his spine, and the day Rei got in an accident because of one, Sei almost lost it. Where would he be without his best friend? His brother? His twin...He didn't think he could live without him...Rei was all he had left...  
  
Sure, he might be different. Sei generally preferred to be quiet, and stick more to himself and to artwork, than be outgoing and wild like Rei, but he still loved him with all his heart.  
  
...'We were born into this world together. So when we die, let's die together, too'....  
  
'It's a promise....'  
  
It still lingered in his heart, the promise they made when they were children.  
  
I'm sorry, Rei, Sei thought to himself. But I just might have to break that promise. Sei sighed as he dragged himself down the hallway.  
  
It was just...Just too much weight. The thought that he might one day loose Rei to his obsession with racing...That Shiori, one of the people he thought he could fall back on, was now with Rei, instead of him. Not really betrayal, but it did hurt to think about. Does she really think we're the same? We may look it but... He sighed...And now, finding out that whom he thought for all these years was his father, wasn't really his father at all...It was just too much...Sei closed his eyes for a moment and sighed again, deep in thought.  
  
Apparently, so was this girl, for she walked straight into him, and then tripped and fell, her papers flying up into the air and scattering down the hallway.  
  
Sei shook his head to clear the depressing thoughts away, and looked at the girl that was scrambling about on her hands and knees, trying to pull her papers out of the way of many hurrying feet. Most of them were already beyond repair, but she still desperately tried to save them, muttering apologies to Sei as she did so.  
  
Tomo didn't know what to do, here she had gone and made a fool out of herself yet again. She let her shoulder-length hair fall down to shield the deep red blush on her cheeks from the students in the hallway, and most of all, from the cute boy she had just ran into.  
  
She had to learn how to stay focused. Spacing out was becoming a bigger and bigger problem with her. If she dove any deeper into her problems...But I won't have to worry about that for long. Just one more flight of stairs to go. It'll be less messy, probably less painful than razor blades...From what I've heard, anyway. She shuddered, she really shouldn't be thinking like this, but then again...  
  
Tomo's hands stopped sweeping the floor for her papers as her eyes landed on the boy she ran into. The boy who was now helping her with her desperate attempt to rescue her sketches from being battered to bits. Had he looked at any? Oh, God! Please tell me he didn't look at any!...The last thing I need is a social worker after me...I just barely managed to pry them off my back before...Oh, please...Oh, please!  
  
She ran over to him and nearly ripped the papers out of his hands as she muttered another apology and then a couple of quick "thank you"s before she barreled off down the hallway as fast as she could. She was too afraid to look into his eyes, to check if he had glanced at her pictures. She could only hope that he didn't...And pray that Mr. Hinoto didn't give her another detention for being-  
  
"Late," he said, as she shut the door as quietly as she could behind her. "That's another detention Ms. Shiru. Your third this week. See you after school...Again."  
  
Damn.  
  
Sei was at a loss for words. His own troubles were far away as he thought about the girl that had just nearly knocked him over, and then fled away as soon as she had recovered her papers. No, not her papers, her...  
  
Sketches...Her sketches...Oh my God... They were beautiful, he guessed. But they worried him more than anything else. What lay behind them was overpowering. Razor blades dripping blood....scars with blood pouring out..blood pooled on the floor...and...The roof of the school!! Oh my God, what do I do?  
  
Sei frantically scanned the hall for his brother, but it was empty. The last period of the day had already begun. And would Rei really be in class, anyway? But what should he do now?  
  
He didn't even know who she was, and only had a general idea of the classroom she could have gone into. On top of that, he really wasn't an out going person. How could he possibly approach her and tell her what he saw?  
  
And would he even recognize her? After all, all he saw of her was her shoulder length, mouse-brown hair. Not even a glimpse of her face or eyes.  
  
But he did remember the books she was carrying, and he would probably be able to figure her out from the look on her face as well, after all, they both seemed to be suffering. Her expression would probably be similar to the one he'd been wearing for a long time.  
  
But now, he'd better get to class. Then again, he really didn't enjoy History, anyway. Rei skipped class all the time, so would it hurt if he did it once? He was a good student. He'd just tell them he had a headache. Besides, it wouldn't be a lie, he was seriously starting to develop one.  
  
Now he had even more weight to lug around...  
  
***  
  
A/N: Well, what did you think? Please review and tell me!! By the way, Tomo's name translates to "companion." I thought that would be kind of ironic because both Sei and Rei can also translate to "companion."  
  
Next up:...Chapter 2: Leap of Loss 


	2. Chapter 2: Leap of Loss

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 2: Leap of Loss  
  
Sei glanced down at his watch. He still had twenty minutes until this period ended. Until school ended for the day.  
  
He sighed as he jogged down the hallway until he reached the corner the girl had taken earlier, then he slowed to a walk, and cautiously and quickly peered into each of the classrooms, scanning the rows quickly, trying to pick her out.  
  
Halfway down the left side of the hallway he spotted her. He knew it was her because she was totally spaced out, and her milky brown hair just barely touched her shoulders. Not to mention the look of pain on her face.  
  
Well, no one else would notice it. It was just barely there. A hint of inner turmoil. Sei could tell. It was an expression he wore all too often. Only, for him, no one noticed.  
  
Rei could sense there was something wrong with him, but wasn't actually sure what. After all, Sei had been slipping further and further away form him, or at least that's how it felt to him sometimes. But he didn't know what was wrong, so he couldn't exactly bring him back. It was like he was fading away...  
  
And that was exactly the way she looked...Like she was trampled on and withering away into dust...Poor thing...  
  
Well, I've found her...But now what?...It's not like I can sit by the door and wait for her to come out... He glanced down at his watch again. Five minutes. Then again, maybe he could.  
  
He leaned against the lockers next to the door...and waited...  
  
After what seemed like an hour, the bell rang. We watched the kids pour out of the room, and realized that she wasn't with them. He took a step forward into the doorway...and got trampled by her a second time. Although this time, he did fall over, and slid across the floor on his rear.  
  
Tomo looked down at him, shock and her depressed look from before mixing on her face. Sei tried to manage a weak smile. Tomo gently shook her head, as if to clear something out, and then bowed, muttered an apology, and then ran down the hallway...and up the stairs?!?...That wasn't a good sign!  
  
Sei scrambled off the floor, and onto his feet and flew after her. "Hey, wait!"  
  
He cursed himself for not at least trying to make an atempt at athletics earlier on in the year, now he was suffering for it. He couldn't run half as fast as Rei could. After all, when Rei was playing basketball with the guys, he was sketching, or painting. Now his legs were suffering for that, as he bounded up the stairs after her.  
  
He heard the door to the roof slam. It shouldn't have been open in the first place, which meant either the janitors had left it open again after cleaning the roof...or she had somehow found a way to open it herself, which was a really bad sign.  
  
Sei sped up. He didn't have any time to loose. She was probably already on the ledge. Taking a last look around before she took that fatal step...Something he had seriously been debating doing himself lately.  
  
He threw open the door, gasping for air, trying to recover his breath, to see her standing on the ledge.  
  
She twitched when she heard the door slam against the wall, but she didn't dare to look behind her now.  
  
The only reason she hadn't jumped yet was because she was too busy thinking about the boy she had ran into. It had to have been Sei, because he looked just like Rei, but his personality was completely different. More quiet most of all. Not half as outgoing as Rei. Rei...  
  
That was one of the other reasons she had been so upset lately. Her self- esteem plummeted below zero when the day she decided to tell him how she felt, she found out he had just started going out with Shiori. She had known that he liked her, but figured that he would never take her from Sei. They were twins, closer than best friends, from what she had observed, anyway.  
  
And now, he was taken. Besides, they looked so happy together, she couldn't break them apart. He'd probably just laugh at her, anyway. Most people didn't even notice her in class or in the hallways. She was a loner, always had been. But now, she was tired of being alone. She sighed, damn tired.  
  
She noticed the ground get blurry and the feel of moisture on her cheek. She had started to cry. She cursed at herself for that, she was supposed to be strong, not wimpy...And yet, she was taking the coward's way out. She nearly laughed at that. All this time she had spent trying to make herself strong, numb to her feelings. All wasted.  
  
She didn't care what her father thought. After all, he didn't care about her, just his reputation. It was always the same thing. Every time she did something wrong, 'How does that make me look?' he would say. Not that he was worried about her, or that she shouldn't do that because of whatever reason. No. Because it made him look bad. Well, fuck him.  
  
She felt bad for her mother, for she couldn't stand Tomo's father, and was thinking about suicide herself lately. And her cat. The only two that will miss me are my mother...and my cat...Wow.  
  
That was it. It was settled, she was going to jump. She cursed at herself for spacing out again, right before she got ready to jump, too. Then again, it didn't matter, anyway. Actually, it would be a good thing if she spaced out after she jumped. She really didn't want to feel the concrete at the bottom of the five story drop.  
  
"Well, here goes nothing. Quite literally," she mumbled to herself as she raised her right foot off the edge and prepared to take that final leap. She had nothing to loose, anyway. Other than her life, that is. But she didn't want that, anyway.  
  
"No! Don't jump!" she heard behind her as she stepped off the roof into the air next to it. Maybe it was just her conscience. Most likely.  
  
Sei swore as he dove towards the edge, barely grabbing her arm in time. Her arm was limp in his hand. He swore as he looked down at her. Cursing himself for not being able to stop her in time, and cursing her for jumping.  
  
After a few moments she shook her head and looked around like she was confused. And then, she looked up...  
  
The whites of her eyes grew as she realized that someone had caught her. Sei now had both his hands on her arm, and was attempting to hoist her up, but it wasn't working, and she wasn't helping. She was hanging there, limp, and staring at him in shock.  
  
Shortly there after, there were tears in her eyes, and she looked up at him with misery clearly written across her face, like if she looked at him long enough like that, maybe he would have pity on her and let go. His stomach lurched. Why would she want to die so badly? He had never even noticed her before, so what problems could she possibly have? Someone who was paid no attention to wouldn't have problems with bullies, or their friends, right?...So what was her problem?  
  
Sei shut his eyes hard and willed his thoughts to go away. He would have to analyze her some other time. Right now he needed to get her back on the roof, for some people had noticed and stopped, gathering on the side walk below.  
  
"Give me your other hand," he asked her.  
  
Reluctantly, eyes shifted downward in defeat, she gave him her other hand, and he pulled her up onto the ledge, and seated her on the roof after he lead her a safe distance away from the edge.  
  
All she wanted to do now was cry. She couldn't even die when she wanted to. It seemed that everyone else around her controlled her life. Everyone except herself. She brought her knees up to her chest, wrapped her hands around her legs, and then rested her head against her knees. Her hair shielded her face and her tears, and all Sei could do was watch as her shoulders heaved from quiet sobs, and feel his own heart ache with a pain that was probably similar to her own.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Poor Tomo...So what will she do now? Attempt suicide a different way, perhaps. After all, Sei won't be following her around to stop her again, right? Maybe life isn't so bad after all...But then again, when the only person she can trust with her troubles is her cat, what will become of her? And the last thing she wants is that damn social worker after her again. Curious? Well, then review so you can read the next chapter!  
  
Next chapter:...Chapter 3: A Good Lie 


	3. Chapter 3: A Good Lie

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 3: A Good Lie  
  
She couldn't stop her sobbing or the steady flow of water from her eyes and down her cheeks.  
  
Now what do I do? she thought. They'll come after me for sure now. They'll say, 'Now Tomo, why didn't you tell us this before when we asked. You said you were fine, that nothing was wrong. Now can you tell us what it is? Please?' And what about Dad? He'll scream at me, tell me I'm weak, that I've ruined my life. Well, if I didn't want my life to be ruined, then I wouldn't have jumped in the first place! And then, if I start crying in front of him, it will just make things worse. I'll probably end up in a hospital somewhere, where they'll try and figure me out. Give me medication, send me to a psychiatrist of psychologist or whatever...A shrink in any case...Oh, God what will I do now!! Could this get any worse??!!  
  
She heard feet coming up the stairs behind them and felt the vibration of the feet walking towards them on the rooftop. Please don't let it be my father. Oh, God, please don't let it be him! I don't care who it is, as long as it's not him!  
  
"Sei!"  
  
She froze. Oh no. Not him...  
  
"Rei! How'd you know I was here?"  
  
"I saw you from the sidewalk. I was waiting for you outside but..."  
  
She could feel his eyes on her as he walked past.  
  
"Are you okay?" Shiori asked from the doorway. She wasn't able to keep up with Rei as he ran up the stairs, arriving a few moments later.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. But..."  
  
More eyes. Now all three of them were looking at her. She gathered her knees closer to her chest until she could barely breath.   
  
"Well, there's paramedics on the way. The ambulance was arriving as we came back into the school."  
  
Great, Tomo thought to herself, as she dried her eyes and let out a huge sigh. Simply lovely.  
  
"What happened, Sei? This your new girlfriend or something?" Rei said, joking around.  
  
Sei made a weak attempt at a laugh. It came out choked and high, like a squeak. "No,...no."  
  
"Then who is she?" Shiori asked, now clinging to Rei's arm, every so often glancing at Tomo, who was now sitting with her legs straight out, but her head tilted down so they couldn't see her face. This was why she decided not to cut her hair too short this time.  
  
"I'm not sure, actually. She ran into me earlier, literally, actually. I wanted to make sure she was okay, so I followed her up."  
  
"That's not like you, Sei. Since when did you start stalking people?" Rei laughed at his own joke, Shiori giggled, and Sei managed a weak smile. "But anyway, what happened? Why was she hanging from the roof?"  
  
"Well...," said Sei, as his eyes wandered over to Tomo. "She was standing on the ledge, most likely just taking in the fresh air and enjoying the view, when she slipped. I caught her right afterwards. She probably spaced out and lost her balance."  
  
"Well, good thing you were here to save her, hero," said Rei as he patted Sei on the back. he thought to himself. Then again, you've been drifting lately... Rei sighed.  
  
Tomo had to hold in a sadistic laugh. Hero?! A Hero?! she laughed inside her head. After all, if she laughed out loud, well, his little "story" would never hold. And if she told the same one, maybe she'd get away with her little "slip." He's far from being a 'Hero'! Heros save the lives of those who don't want to die when they're facing death, not when they chose it for themselves. He's more like a surgeon who messes up on the operation table and makes the life of his patient even worse. A 'hero' he says. More inward laughter.  
  
Well, at least by now, her tears had dried, and she had a smile on her face.  
  
More footsteps.  
  
"Is everyone okay up here?" A man wearing the outfit of a paramedic and carrying a large first-aid kit stepped onto the roof from the stairs.  
  
"Yeah," Rei shouted over.  
  
Sei walked across the roof to the man and Tomo simply assumed that he told the man the same story he managed to tell Rei.  
  
The man got a confused look on his face, as if he didn't quite understand, or that he didn't believe the story, but then his eyes seemed to clear and he nodded his head.  
  
"It's happened before, but I better have a look at her and talk to her, anyway."  
  
The sound and vibration of his steps drew nearer to her. She could feel him kneeling next to her and heard the click of the first-aid box as he placed it on the roof.  
  
"You okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," she said with a sniffle. "I just sort-of slipped, but that boy saved me, thank God. I really should get out of the habit of coming up to the roof to relax. My friends warned me that my tendency of spacing out would get me in trouble one of these days."  
  
She let her eyes flit in his direction. Did he buy it? She saw him smile and nod his head. She felt herself relax a bit.  
  
"Okay. Just be more careful. And you're right, you really should get out of this dangerous habit of yours...You're not hurt at all? There doesn't seem to be a scratch on you."  
  
Tomo shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I barely fell out of arms reach of the ledge. I didn't even scrape against anything, and I'm getting over the initial shock, too."  
  
The paramedic smiled as he stood up. "Okay. Just be more careful, alright? And I'm guessing you don't want to go to the hospital then?"  
  
She looked up at him and managed one of her fake happy smiles. It worked on him. She even managed to laugh. "No, I'm fine. Thanks for your concern."  
  
He nodded his head. "No prob." He waved off the guys that were standing at the door with the stretcher, looked back at her one last time, shook his head, and then walked across the roof to the door.  
  
"Some crazy youths we have today," he said to himself. "With some crazy, dangerous habits."  
  
Still sitting on the roof, Tomo looked over at the little group that stood before her to find that all three were staring back.  
  
Oops...Now what?  
  
***  
  
A/N: Rei and Shiori want Sei to leave with them as they head home, but Sei says he needs to make sure that the girl's okay. What will she do now? He knows her secret that she can't afford having anyone else know, and what will she do with a life that she now can't get rid of?  
  
Next chapter:...Chapter 4: Now What? 


	4. Chapter 4: Now What?

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 4: Now What?  
  
"Well, Sei, we better get going," said Rei.  
  
"Yeah, come on, we can all walk home together!" Shiori flashed a smile at Sei.  
  
Sei managed another smile, which was getting harder and harder to do at this point. But he also shook his head. "No, I better make sure she's okay."  
  
"But the paramedic just said..." Shiori began.  
  
Rei gave his brother an odd look. "Come on Shiori, let's go." Rei pulled her by the arm towards the stairs.  
  
Shiori gave Sei a disappointed look, then turned around to face the doorway and leaned against Rei's arm.  
  
Sei waited until he could no longer hear their footsteps before he approached her.  
  
Tomo began to stand up, talking while she did so. "Thank you so much for saving me, I really should be more careful about spacing out like that. You know, I-"  
  
"You don't have to lie to me. I saw what you did."  
  
Tomo stood up straight and looked at him. She tried to give one of her "what-ever-are-you-talking-about" smiles, but it melted right off her face when her eyes met his.  
  
She couldn't bare it, she had to look away. "Well, I best be going. I don't want to get home late and have my parents worry about me. I lost my ride a while ago, so now I have to walk home, and it's a good five miles from here..."  
  
She started walking towards the door, feeling the sweat form on her face from all the tension. She thought she might make it when a hand rested on her shoulder.  
  
She flinched away from it and it moved away. "Why did you do it?"  
  
Her whole body was tense now. And her voice betrayed her as she tried to talk, breaking into a squeak after only a few words. "What do you mean? Coming up to the roof to get some fresh air? It's a bad habit, and then I-"  
  
"I told you, you don't have to lie to me. I saw what you did, and that wasn't it. So...Why?"  
  
She couldn't help it anymore, she laughed and nearly fell over doing so. The tension was getting to her.  
  
Sei got chills, her laugh was so cold.  
  
"Why? Why do you care? No one else does! And trust me, you did me more harm than good saving me back there. Besides, isn't this a little out of your character? Since when did you show concern about anyone other than Rei, and maybe Shiori?"  
  
She looked at him with her sadistic smile, her glistening eyes giving away how she truly felt. She didn't expect the look of shock on his face.  
  
"Of course, you didn't know, did you? No, of course you didn't. No one did. I may be silent, and even ignored, but I have ears, and eyes, and I know what's going on. You probably don't even know who I am, even though I've even been in some of your classes. Then again, no one notices me, and if I didn't space out as much, you wouldn't have either." She glanced at him again, his face hadn't changed.  
  
"I love Rei. I mean, what girl doesn't. But then again, I'm not like most girls. No, I loved him more than anyone else. I've had a crush on him ever since I first met him...Probably because we're exact opposites...Yeah, most likely...Well, my world's been getting bleaker and bleaker lately, and then Shiori left you and started dating Rei." She laughed again. "What a stupid girl. I bet if you two stood next to each other, she couldn't even tell you apart. You're both the same to her, you know. And as long as she has one of you, she doesn't care." She laughed again, and had to bend over a bit so she didn't fall over.  
  
When she looked back at him, she realized that she had hit him a little too deep, because his expression had changed to one of deep sorrow. The same look she saw in the mirror every morning. Her own smile faded and her laughter died as she stood up straight again and kept looking at him.  
  
Then she turned away, and looked towards the stairway. "Well, now that you know, leave me alone." She turned her head around to look over her shoulder. "And if you ever catch me up here again, don't stop me." She turned back towards the door and began to walk across the roof.  
  
"Only if you don't stop me," Sei muttered. He raised a hand to his mouth as he realized what he had just said, because Tomo had whirled around, her eyes wide.  
  
"What?!"  
  
Sei looked to the side, at a patch of roof a few feet away. "Nothing." And this time, he started walking towards the only exit, but she stopped him instead.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Now that they both know the other's deepest secret, what will they do now? It seems that life has treated both of them unfairly, and that their fates just might be intertwined after all. [Like it so far, then REVIEW!!! Please?...]  
  
Next chapter:....Chapter 5: Intertwined Fate 


	5. Chapter 5: Intertwined Fate

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 5: Intertwined Fate  
  
Tomo felt like her heart was clenched in a fist of ice.  
  
"What did you say?" She couldn't believe her ears. He had said, 'Only if you don't stop me,' hadn't he?...  
  
Sei didn't feel like talking, he shrugged off her hand.  
  
Tomo ran in front of him and blocked the entrance to the stairway. All Sei did was stop walking and stare at her.  
  
"Okay. I told you why I want to die, now you tell me."  
  
"It doesn't matter."  
  
"Yes it does!" she was almost yelling at him.  
  
"Why are you concerned about me, but not about yourself? You wanted me to let you die, but now that I tell you I might want to, everything's completely different."  
  
She didn't know what to say. He had a point.  
  
"Can you at least tell me why you want to die?"  
  
Sei sighed. "I might loose my brother, the one and only person I've truly ever loved and have left, one of the only friends I ever had abandoned me, and my father isn't who I thought he was. Are you happy now?" Sei was almost at the point of tears.  
  
Tomo felt so weak she almost fell out of the doorway. They were so similar it was scary. Her heart had to have skipped a beat. But how could someone feel the same way she did? It didn't seem possible.  
  
"You don't have any other friends?"  
  
Sei looked at the ground. "No."  
  
"What about your mother?"  
  
"Dead."  
  
"Uncles?" She saw him cringe. "Okay...bad question...There has to be some reason you're still alive!!"  
  
"My last hope died, and I feel like I'm drifting away from everything I know."  
  
She wanted to run over to him and hug him, and tell him that everything would be all right, that she would be his friend. It was like they were meant for each other. But nothing came out. She just stood there, frozen.  
  
Sei felt like a completely different person. Normally, he would never tell someone who was almost a stranger something this deep. Even Rei didn't know he felt like this! Then again, today wasn't exactly normal. He sighed. He didn't know who he was anymore.  
  
Tomo took a leap that she never thought she would. She took a deep breath and spat it out in what seemed like one word. "I'llbeyourfriend."  
  
Sei looked up at her, half because he didn't understand her, half because he thought he did and couldn't understand why she would say something like that. "What?"  
  
She sighed and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'll be your friend."  
  
Sei didn't know what to do. He just sort of stood there and blinked at her. This day had officially gone far past normal.  
  
"It'll give you something to live for!" she managed a smile.  
  
Sei managed a smile back. She was blushing, so he assumed she was serious. Why would she say something like that if she wasn't? She didn't seem like the type that would intentionally hurt him, like the bullys he had had to deal with. "K."  
  
She blushed an even deeper shade of red. "Really?"  
  
Sei shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not. I've got nothing left to loose. After all, we both almost weren't here right now."  
  
"You mean, you.."  
  
"Were planning to take the big jump too? Yeah..." Sei walked over to Tomo because she had moved over and was no longer blocking the entrance to the staircase.  
  
"By the way," she began. "My name's Shiru. Tomo Shiru," she said with a bow.  
  
"How unusual. I've never met anyone with that name before."  
  
"Yeah. Neither have I." They both laughed a little. "Well, I need to get going. Like I said before, my house is..."  
  
"I know. Five miles away. I'll walk you home."  
  
"But it's out of the way....You don't have to."  
  
He looked into her eyes. "I want to."  
  
She smiled. "K."  
  
"Besides, it'll give us time to talk. Something I think both of us need to do right now."  
  
"Yeah...," she definately agreed.  
  
And to think, that day, they both almost ended their lives, and instead, ended up with each other.  
  
***  
  
A/N: You could almost feel the two connecting as they walked home together, each telling their own stories. But what about tomorrow, when Rei and Shiori would want to know the whole story. What will Sei tell them then?  
  
Next chapter:...Chapter 6: A Tangled Romance 


	6. Chapter 6: A Tangled Romance

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 6: A Tangled Romance  
  
The next day, Tomo couldn't help but stop outside her Jr. High school and stare at the roof, stare at the place where she had almost ended her life. Well, in a way, her life had ended. Her old life, anyway. And now, starting yesterday afternoon, her new life had begun.  
  
She wasn't alone anymore. She had a friend. Even though it was only one, that was all she needed. She needed someone whom she could share her problems with. Her cat couldn't very well give her advice in a sticky situation.  
  
She thought about the walk home, how both her and Sei told each other the stories of their lives up to that point, and then filled in the rest of the time with odd stories they had either heard of, or seen themselves. When they had finally reached her house, they both had tears in their eyes from laughter, and much higher spirits than the ones they had had just a couple of hours before.  
  
When she came back from her reminesce, she realized that she was still staring at the roof, and that now Sei was standing beside her. She blushed a little as she looked at him. She really had to stop spacing out.  
  
"Hello," she said with a smile. He was still staring at the roof, but then abruptly turned his gaze to her.  
  
"Hi Tomo-chan." He glanced back at the roof again, causing Tomo to as well. "Let's forget about that," he said as he looked back at her.  
  
Tomo nodded her head. "Yeah...I really don't want to think about it ever again."  
  
Sei nodded too. "Come on, we better get to class."  
  
With that, Sei and Tomo walked towards the front entrance to the school.  
  
Shiori and Rei had been talking by a tree in the front courtyard when Shiori glanced around, looking for Sei. He had been with them a moment ago. She hadn't even noticed him leave. Then she spotted him.  
  
He was walking up the front steps of the school with some girl she'd seen in a few of her classes. That's funny. I never saw him hang out with her before. They were even laughing and seemed to be having a good time. Shiori saw something odd about this. Then again, maybe it was just jealousy.  
  
"Hey, Rei?"  
  
Rei stopped in the middle of the story he was telling about how his science teacher went off on a tangent the day before and told them all about how he almost blew up one of his classrooms. "What?"  
  
"Who's that girl Sei's with?"  
  
Rei glanced over towards the front of the school, spotted Sei, and started scratching the back of his head when he spotted the girl he was with.  
  
"I don't know...She seems fimiliar...But I can't put my finger on it." He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, don't worry about it...Anyway,..." Rei picked up where he left off, but Shiori was too absorbed in watching Sei.  
  
Who was that girl? And why was she walking with her Sei. Well, he might not technically be hers anymore, but she was still attached to him. After all, they had been best friends, and then had gone out, but now they seemed to be driffting apart. What if it was her? Well, then she had to get rid of her, no questions asked.  
  
She looked up at Rei and smiled, and then interrupted him again.  
  
"Come on Rei, we're going to be late," she said, as she hooked his arm in hers and dragged him towards the front of the building. Rei gave her a puzzled look, wondering why she was suddenly so concerned about being on time when she'd never been before, then just shrugged and adjusted his pace so he wouldn't be dragged.  
  
By the time they had finally climbed up the steps, Shiori had lost all sight of Sei and looked diappointed when Rei glanced down at her. Rei had no idea what was bugging her and decided it mustn't of been important because a couple of moments later she was looking up at him and smiling again.  
  
It's okay. I should see him during lunch. I can figure all this out then. Shiori smiled to herself as she leaned against Rei's arm as they walked down the hallway heading towards their first period classes.  
  
***  
  
Later that day, Tomo sat in her usual seat during lunch and waved Sei over. He smiled as he set his lunch tray down, he couldn't help it. This would be the first day he would actually be able to eat his lunch considering he wouldn't have to deal with looking at Shiori and her undisguised affection towards Rei.  
  
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're in a good mood," Tomo said with a smile as she took a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Sei had just dipped his fork into the mashed potatoes on his tray and was about to respond when he noticed Shiori staring at them from a table on the other side of the cafeteria. Sei put his fork down and shifted his chair so he wouldn't be facing her anymore.  
  
Tomo gave him a wierd look, but once she looked behind him she realized why he had moved, and quickly adjusted her own chair so she wouldn't have to look at her either.  
  
Shiori's jaw dropped. Sei had looked at her, and then adjusted his chair so he couldn't see her. What kind of power did this girl have over him?! Shiori took this action as a direct insult and took it upon herself to right his wrong by heading over to their table, dragging Rei behind her.  
  
Tomo jumped when the chair beside her suddenly slid out from under the table on its own, but this was a fleeting fear as she noticed that someone had pulled out the chair, and her smile melted off her face when she realized it was Shiori. Both Sei and Rei looked surprised by this random act of Shiori's, but all she did was smile and then began to talk as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.  
  
"Hey, Sei. Why don't you introduce us to your new friend." Shiori looked at Sei and smiled, her elbows on the table and her chin resting in her hands. Rei looked from Shiori to Tomo and had a sudden realization. This girl looked familiar for some reason.  
  
"Hey," said Rei, trying to get Tomo's attention. He pointed at her. "Have I seen you before?"  
  
Tomo was somewhat shocked and somewhat scared. Did he remember?  
  
Sei looked at Rei and smiled. "Of course you have! She's in a couple of your classes, remember?"  
  
Rei slid back into a slouch, scratching his head. "Really?"  
  
Sei looked to Tomo for support, she nodded enthusiasticly.  
  
Shiori cocked one eyebrow, questioning Sei's explaination. Then, rather loudly, "Hey, isn't she the girl from the roof?" she said, as she stood up, pushing back her chair and leaning over the table, one hand on it for balance and the other pointing at Tomo.  
  
Tomo leaned back, away from her, and blushed. "I...err...um..."  
  
A bunch of kids had looked over from the surrounding tables, wondering what the commotion was. Seeing nothing interesting, their food and friends had taken back their interest and they ignored the table of four near them.  
  
Seeing Tomo at a loss for words, he rushed in to save her, yet again. "Yeah. We got to know each other a little bit better yesterday afternoon when I walked her home." Here, Rei gave him a questioning glance. Sei looked him in the eyes as he finished. "She had lost her ride because she was late and I didn't want her walking home at dusk by herself."  
  
Tomo sighed in relief and Sei could see the thanks in her eyes. He smiled at her for an instant before his attention was drawn back to Shiori.  
  
"So you guys are friends now?" There was an unusual emphasis on the word 'friends' but Sei and Tomo nodded their heads in agreement, anyway.  
  
Rei shot Shiori a weird look. "Why, did you think they were something more? Come on, Shiori! You think meek little Sei would have made her his girlfriend right after meeting her! You know he's not like that!"  
  
Tomo noticed Sei look down and blush at his brother's comment. Shiori was looking at Tomo, more like analyzing her. Realizing this, Tomo looked back at her and smilied. Taken by surprise, Tomo tried to send a smile back, but all she managed to do was make the corners of her mouth twitch.  
  
Tomo did not like this girl at all. There was something about her that reminded her of a feral cat. Sure, they look cute and cuddly, but when you see their true personality you realize just how vicious and wild they really are. She got chills just looking at her.  
  
And rightfully so because as of that moment Shiori was already trying to figure out how to win Sei back into her posession and just how exactly she would get rid of Tomo.  
  
***  
  
A/N: With her jealousy blinding her to Sei's new-found happiness, Shiori sets out to rip Tomo away from Sei. "After all, how could Sei love you as much as he loves Rei. You will never be as close as me and Rei are, and besides, deep down, Sei obviously still loves me."  
  
Next Chapter.....Chapter 7: Jealousy's Devil 


	7. Chapter 7: Jealousy's Devil

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 7: Jealousy's Devil  
  
As Tomo walked home from school that afternoon she got chills down her spine just thinking about Shiori. There was something about that girl that reminded her more of a snake than a harmless middle school student.  
  
She brushed the thoughts aside, though. She was probably just being paranoid. That was the other thing she was known for. Being paranoid. She sighed and as that thought faded away as well a new one took its place. A bright and clear picture of Sei. She blushed just thinking of him, but as of now, they were just friends, and their relationship would probably never evolve to be anything more.  
  
' "Why, did you think they were something more? Come on, Shiori! You think meek little Sei would have made her his girlfriend right after meeting her! You know he's not like that!" '  
  
Tomo sighed. No matter how many things she could think of that contradicted that statement, in the end, they all fell like the dying sparks of a blazing fire. She and Sei would probably never be more than friends, especially with that Shiroi girl stalking them like a hungry tiger. Tomo couldn't possibly imagine what was bothering her so much, but soon had to abandon this thought as she nearly walked into a tree. Walking straight when the sidewalk curves isn't always a good idea.  
  
***  
  
Sei threw his backpack to the side and fell bakcwards onto his bed. Staring at the ceiling he saw the events of today flash across his ceiling and each time they reached Tomo they seemed to stop for a moment, making the air around her shine like gold, and then move on to the next scene.  
  
In the end, he was left with a memory of her floating above his head, and his thoughts racing. Just how exactly did he feel about her. He sighed and rubbed his eyelids with his fingers, but the image did not fade, nor did it go away. It was like they were drawn to each other by some invisible force. Even Shiori had sensed it, judging from the way she had acted at lunch today.  
  
Sure, Shiori wasn't exactly normal, but Sei had never seen her act like that before. He couldn't help but worry when he thought about just what she might be thinking, or planning rather. But right now he needed to focus on him homework. Tomo and Shiori would have to wait.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, when everyone was gathering in the courtyard before the start of the school day, Shiori was the equivelent to a lioness moving in to make the kill. The hair's on Tomo's neck stood up. The next moment she realized that Shiori was beside her.  
  
The cheerful-looking girl flashed one of her innocent smiles-more like baring her teeth-before she began a some-what normal sounding converstation. Normal at first, anyway. They exchanged their 'how are you's and what-not, but then out of the blue the lioness made her move.  
  
"Tomo, you do know that you'll never be as close to Sei as he is to his brother."  
  
Taken by surprise, all Tomo could do was stare in wide-eyed surprise at the curly haired girl.  
  
"After all, how could Sei love you as much as he loves Rei."  
  
Tomo's eyes never moved off of Shiori, and at this point, Shiori looked straight into Tomo's eyes.  
  
"You will never be as close to Sei as I am to Rei, and besides, deep down, Sei obviously still loves me."  
  
Shiori smiled as she began to run towards the stairs, the bell having rung, but turning around to look at Tomo once more before the start of school. "Well, bye! It was nice seeing you this morning! Talk to you again during lunch!"  
  
Shiori smililed to herself as she caught up with Rei on the steps of the school, leaving Tomo by herself, in the middle of the empty courtyard.  
  
***  
  
During lunch that day Shiori sat between Sei and Rei and tried her best to gain the attention of both of the boys. Tomo couldn't help but dwell on the words Shiori had told her this morning. Were they true? Was she right?  
  
'Maybe.' Right now, Tomo's life was full of 'maybe's, 'maybe's and 'what if's. Today her mind had wandered more often then normal, a whole test had gone untaken, no notes were copied down, and she was sent to the nurse more than once, but she hadn't noticed, or cared. She had been too deep in thought.  
  
Is what Shiori said true? She thought to herself as she looked from Sei to Shiori and from Shiori to Rei. Of course, Tomo had to take into account that Sei and Rei were twins and would naturally be close, anyway, but did Sei still love Shiori?  
  
' "...one of the only friends I ever had abandoned me..." '  
  
No. There is no way he still feels the same way about her. No after what she did to him. And yet, she had heard of girls who went on loving their old boyfriends even if they had mentally or physically abused them. She didn't know what to think.  
  
"..do you think, Tomo?"  
  
Tomo blinked and looked up. It was then that she realized it must of looked like she was studying her peanut butter and jelly sandwich with great difficulty.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Sei looked at her with a smile on his face. "Shiori wants to know if you want to go to an amusement park this weekend. I'll be there, of course. Only if you're going, of course."  
  
Tomo couldn't help but smile back. "Sure. I'd love to."  
  
"Then it's settled!" said Tomo as Rei leaned back on his chair and rolled his eyes. "We'll go to that park with that new huge rollercoaster! I hear it's supposed to be great."  
  
Every one nodded their heads in agreement, and with that the bell signalling the end of lunch rang and they all had to go off to their separate classes.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Sei and Tomo's bond is growing deeper in the next chapter, but with it, Shiori's jealousy grows and she tries something that may turn too risky even for her own taste.  
  
Next Chapter....Chapter 8: The More-Than-Amusement Park 


	8. Chapter 8: The MoreThanAmusement Park

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 8: The More-Than-Amusement Park  
  
At 7:30 the next morning Shiori's mother's van was waiting in front of Tomo's house, Sei and Rei, as well as Shiori already inside. Tomo flung her backpack of supplies over her shoulder, yelled 'good bye' to her mother and father and ran out of the house, slamming the front door behind her as she went.  
  
Her mother didn't even have enough time to open the door and ask her is she had remembered her house key, they were already gone. By 8:00 they had arrived at the park and by 9:00 they were wandering around, eating cotton candy, wondering exactly what they were going to do with this day full of potential fun.  
  
Shiori was already putting her plan to work. The first step had been to get them to the amusement park, now, basically all she had to do was seat herself between Rei and Sei the entire time and hang all over them every chance she got. Tomo, of course, would be on the other side of Sei, but that didn't matter. They weren't 'together' yet and she highly doubted Tomo would do anything.  
  
First off, Tomo decided to put one of her arms through Rei's and the other through Sei's.  
  
Sei tried shrugging her off, "Come on, Shiori. We'll look like little kids if we walk around without arms linked like this!" He smiled while saying it, trying not to offend her.  
  
Shiori pouted as she looked up at him. "But we used to do this before . . . " with this statement she shot a glance at Tomo. Tomo made sure not to acknowledge the glance, even though she noticed it.  
  
"We were also less mature then," said Sei as he pulled his arm out of her own. "Besides, I never really liked it, anyway."  
  
A new fire lit in Shiori's eyes. Now she was beyond determined to get rid of Tomo.  
  
I don't know who this girl is, thinking she can just steal Sei away from me like this! We've been such good friends and now she's going to ruin everything! Unfortunately, the thought never passed through her head that maybe if they all became friends, that all of their friendships and bonds would strengthen again. Shiori was too jealous. She wanted things to be back the way they were before, back when all of them were best friends and no one had even heard of a girl named 'Tomo Shiru.'  
  
It was here that Shiori decided to make a change of plans.  
  
***  
  
At lunch she sat between Sei and Tomo this time, forcing Tomo to sit next to her, something that Shiori knew Tomo would not enjoy. In fact, she was fidgeting nearly the entire time and did not touch her chicken fingers or french fries, all she did was glance back and forth between all the smiling faces. Even Sei seemed to be enjoying himself, but she couldn't see that he really wanted to be spending more time with Tomo. He himself was having a dilemma.  
  
I know I should be spending more time with Tomo, said Sei, as his eyes wandered to where she was sitting, a smile still on his face from Rei's joke. But I've been drifting so far away from Rei and Shiori lately, and I feel like this is pulling me back to them again. His simile faded as he sighed and looked from brother to friend, then pulled out his chair and went and sat next to Tomo.  
  
Sei could see the shock on Shiori's face as he seated himself in the empty chair next to Tomo. Tomo instantly cheered up, but for a brief instant, Shiori looked like the clouds in the sky before a storm. Sei could've almost sworn he saw lightning flicker in her eyes.  
  
But he brushed it off as if it were nothing, and almost immediately he and Tomo struck up a conversation and were laughing and having a great time. No more than ten minutes into this, Shiori declared that she was done with her lunch and that they should now go spend some time in the water themed area of the park considering it was getting so hot.  
  
Everyone, even Tomo, agreed that this was a good idea, so they all picked up their bags and headed off toward the wave pool and giant water slides.  
  
***  
  
As desperately as Shiori tried, she couldn't keep the group together once they had set a foot inside this separate area of the park.  
  
Tomo looked around, instantly picking out what she did and didn't want to do, and what she wanted to do first, and second, and so on. She talked this over with Sei, and for the most part, he agreed, but Shiori and Rei had a different plan all together.  
  
"How about we all just meet back here in four hours," said Rei as he passed his hand through his hair in annoyance. He was getting tired of hearing them trying to work the two conflicted schedules out. Tomo and Sei instantly agreed and they headed off together to the wave pool before Shiori could say two words.  
  
Shiori was about to go after them when Rei grabbed her by the kriss-crossed straps on the back of her bathing suit.  
  
"Come on," he said, not too thrilled about this part of the park. "Didn't you say you wanted to go on those slides first?"  
  
Shiori sighed and turned around, making Rei let go of her suit. "Yeah," she said, trying to recover her facade and smile back at him. It didn't work, but Rei just decided to ignore her weird mood that day.  
  
***  
  
Laughing and soaked, Sei and Tomo approached the spot that they were all supposed to meet at . . . thirty minutes ago. Both Rei and Shiori didn't look too happy that they were late, but all Rei did was sigh and ask where they were going to go next?  
  
Well, by now it was getting dark, since they had eaten a late lunch to begin with, and then straight afterwards had headed to the water park.  
  
"Why don't we all go on the Ferris wheel together?" suggested Shiori. "It will be perfect! We'll be able to see the entire park from the top and then decide what we want to do for the rest of the time from there!"  
  
"Sure," said Rei, not really caring.  
  
Tomo, on the other hand, had a different idea. "Nah, I rather go on that new roller coaster they built. It would probably be pretty cool at this time and I'm sure me and Sei would somewhat be able to see the layout of the park and all the rides.  
  
Sei agreed, and once again, Shiori was stuck alone with Rei as Sei and Tomo took off toward the roller coaster, on a completely different side of the park than the Ferris wheel.  
  
Rei sighed. I would've rather gone on the roller coaster myself, he looked down at Shiori. Oh well.  
  
Shiori hesitantly led the way to the Ferris wheel, now smouldering with anger. Her idea had backfired completely! It seems that they've gotten even closer because of this! What am I supposed to do now?! Grr. Rei sighed again when he saw how long the line for the Ferris wheel was. Guess everyone else had the same idea they did.  
  
***  
  
Sei couldn't remember when he had this much fun. Tomo and him just couldn't stop laughing as they walked away from the roller coaster. It had been even more fun than the advertisements and seeing the looks on the people's faces in the photos after wards, combined with the fact that they both were having trouble walking, just proved to be too much.  
  
Sei had to catch Tomo a couple of times as she lost her footing and nearly fell over, one time taking Sei with her.  
  
As they reached the area of game stands, Tomo lost her footing once more, causing her and Sei to fall into one of the areas between two of the game stands.  
  
Tomo was now laughing at his own clumsiness and was about to suggest that they should probably get out of there before someone misinterpreted what they were doing.  
  
But Sei wasn't listening, he was too busy staring into her brown, laughing eyes and being pulled into her contagious smile. Before Tomo could even imagine what Sei was doing, he leaned downwards, intertwined his fingers in her hair, and brushed his lips against hers.  
  
Tomo froze, ridged as a tree in a day with no wind. A million thoughts rain through her head, but in the ends she ended up being lost in the kiss.  
  
When he broke the embrace he realized that both of them were blushing and Sei managed a grin as he scratched the back of his head.  
  
"Come on," he said, locking his arm inside hers. "We have to go meet Rei and Shiori before they get suspicious."  
  
Tomo slid her arm out, making Sei look at her, surprised and hurt, but when she grasped his hand, he blushed deeper than before. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, only stopping when they were in close distance with the Ferris wheel.  
  
***  
  
Sei may have realized that both of them were blushing after the kiss, but what he didn't notice was Shiori, who had spotted them from the top of the Ferris wheel and went from being pale with shock to flushed with anger. By the time the ride was over and she and Rei had gotten off, her face was back to a normal color, but Rei could tell that something was wrong.  
  
He was about to ask her what was bugging her when she somewhat randomly (at least to him, anyway) took off toward the game area. A few minutes later he realized that she had spotted Sei and Tomo and must've wanted to ask them how the ride was, he assumed. Why she would be that curious was beyond him.  
  
***  
  
Shiori was nearly out of breath by the time she reached the new couple, but she still managed to smile and look like she wasn't doing something out of the ordinary.  
  
"Sei?" she asked, making him tear his gaze away from Tomo for a moment.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Could you please try and win me that cute stuffed duck?" Shiori pointed over to this giant yellow duck that had to be at least three feet tall.  
  
Sei looked at her, clearly confused. "Why? Rei is much better at those types of games than I am."  
  
"Please?" Shiori pouted and looked at him, begging him with her eyes.  
  
Sei sighed and promised Tomo that he's be back in just a moment. Tomo nodded her head understandingly and watched her new, and first, boyfriend, go off with Shiori toward a table about half a block away.  
  
This short conversation had given Rei just enough time to make his way over to the group. He sighed as he watched Shiori run off again, making Tomo jump. She had not known that he was behind her.  
  
"Oops. Sorry," said Rei, as he grinned, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't mean to surprise you like that."  
  
"It's okay," said Tomo, smiling back.  
  
Rei was just about to say something more when Tomo looked back at the game Sei had been playing and realized that both Shiori and Sei were gone. Seeing something odd with this, she ran over to see what they were doing.  
  
"Tomo, I wanted to thank you for . . . " then Rei looked down and realized that she was running off. "Dammit! What is with these girls?"  
  
Rei took off after her, but slowed down when he saw just how suddenly she had stopped.  
  
***  
  
Tomo couldn't believe her eyes.  
  
There was the one whom she had finally thought she could trust, the one she had allowed herself to love thinking that she wouldn't get hurt again, kissing Shiori nearly in the same way he had just kissed her moments ago.  
  
She didn't stay long enough to see the shock on Sei's face when he pulled away from the kiss, or the malicious grin on Shiori's, all she saw was the blur of the amusement park face by her eyes and the feel of moisture on her cheeks as she ran past Rei, out of the park gates, and into the night beyond.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Sei couldn't believe Shiori! What was with her?! They had broken up, they were finished, and they had never even kissed when they were together, so why now? As he pulled away from her he noticed someone watching them out of the corner of his eye, and then no sooner had he notice them, they were gone. "Oops, looks like Tomo spotted us. Poor girl." Sei looked at Shiori, his disgust clearly written across his face, and then ran after Tomo, the second one to nearly run Rei over.  
  
Next Chapter . . . Chapter 9: Raindrops from a Clear Sky 


	9. Chapter 9: Raindrops from a Clear Sky

Twin Hearts: A Parellel Destiny  
  
Chapter 9: Raindrops from a Clear Sky  
  
Sei couldn't believe Shiori! What was with her?! They had broken up, they were finished, and they had never even kissed when they were together, so why now? As he pulled away from her he noticed someone watching them out of the corner of his eye, and then no sooner had he notice them, they were gone.  
  
"Oops, looks like Tomo spotted us. Poor girl. She must be heartbroken."  
  
Sei was too busy staring at the empty space Tomo had once occupied to notice the malicious grin on Shiori's face.  
  
I win, she thought, smiling smuggly to herself.  
  
Sei tore out of the space inbetween the stands and nearly ran over his twin in the process. No. Why did this happen?! It doesn't make any sense! Why?!  
  
' "Oh no!" Shiori said as Sei handed her the duck.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I lost one of my favorite earings! Can you help me find it?"  
  
Thinking nothing of this, Sei nodded his head. "Sure."  
  
They looked in front of the stand for a while, and then between the stand they were just at and the one beside it.  
  
To Sei's surprise, Shiori out of the blue swund her arm around his neck and kissed him passionately.  
  
Sei backed up in surprise. "Shiori...what?..." '  
  
Sei shook his head to try and clear the thoughts away, but they kept coming back to haunt him. Why would she do something like that? She's Rei's girlfriends now, and besides, she never did anything like that when we were together!  
  
Then it hit his heart like a dagger of ice. He froze in his tracks for a moment. "She's jealous..." he mumbled, before resuming his break-neck speed. She must still have feelings for me...No, he shook his head. She just wants me and Rei all to herself, like it was before...That idiot...does she have any idea what she's done?  
  
***  
  
Shiori walked out of her hiding place smiling, congratulating herself. She had done a good job.  
  
Rei noticed her and came running over. "Hey, Shiori," he said while he ran, trying to get her attention. Shiori was off in space, still thinking about just how perfect her plan had worked.  
  
"Shiori!" Rei said again, now a little annoyed. Shiori was brought back from her thoughts a bit by Rei.  
  
"Hmm?" she said, half there.  
  
"What's going on? Why did those two suddenly take off like that? And why did Tomo seem so upset?"  
  
"Oh, it was nothing more than a mere kiss. I don't know what's got her so worked up." Shiori covered her mouth with her hands. Oh no.  
  
Rei stared blankly at her for a moment, surprised that even she could stoop that low, then his face grew dark, seh couldn't see his eyes anymore.  
  
"I can't believe you did that."  
  
Shiori tried covering up what she said. "Did what?" she shot him her best innocent smile.  
  
"You jealous bitch!" he yelled, taking a step forward and using the momentum to help swing his arm. The slap of his hand against her face seemed to resonate off the buildings around them. Rei's face was suddenly illuminated again. He had fire blazing in his eyes. Shiori stepped backwards, her hand flying up to the stinging hand-print on her face.  
  
"Get out of my sight." Rei siad calmly, his face once again becoming engulfed by shadow.  
  
"But...Rei..." Shiori pleaded.  
  
"Get out of my sight!" yelled Rei again.  
  
Shiori's eyes filled with tears as she looked at him one last time, and then turned around in the opposite direction and ran.  
  
"Sei..." said Rei, he looked towards the gate, his eyes now sympathetic and worried. "I hope you're all right...You and Tomo too..."  
  
Rei turned towards the exit of the park and then, after he thought about it for an instant, decided to run as well. Who knew what would become of those two, and for some reason, for the first time, Rei thought Tomo's incident on the roof wasn't really an accident at all.  
  
***  
  
Sei stood, out of breath, in the front coutyard of the school, right below the steps. He had to run for fifteen minutes to get to the nearest bus stop and then had to run from where he got off the bus to where he was now, and still he felt that his time were short.  
  
Standing there, he felt a stray raindrop on his cheek, but when he looked up at the night sky, he relaized he could see all the stars. It was a beautiful clear night. Clear except for that one shadow, that one, shifting shadow on the roof. A shadow that resembled more of a person than of a tree branch blowing in the wind.  
  
"Oh no..."  
  
***  
  
A/N: What will become of poor Tomo, her heart broken, and her lungs gasping for air. She had run most of the way, the bus helping a bit. Now, on the roof, she stood contemplating a fate she had once before. To jump, or not to jump, that was the question, and the answer was leaning closer and closer towards the former.  
  
Next Chapter....Chapter 10: One Life for Another 


	10. Chapter 10: One Life for Another

Twin Hearts: A Parallel of Destiny  
  
Chapter 10: One Life for Another  
  
Shiori grasped the stinging hand mark on her face, her tears propelled into the air behind her by the force of the wind against her cheek. She couldn't stop running. She didn't want to stop running.  
  
How could this be?...Why? Why?...It doesn't make any sense! It was working so well..My plan . . . But now . . . Now I'm left with no one . . . Now I'm all alone . . .   
  
She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing more tears out of her eyes. This world couldn't get more blurry.  
  
Now that I've messed up this bad, what do I do now? There's nothing I can do to fix this!!...Nothing!..I'm stuck alone now . . . And no one's gonna want to be with me when they've found out what I did.  
  
She stopped in the middle of her tracks and tilted her head back, barely able to make out the white pin points of light in the midnight-blue sky. I might as well stop living. Stop existing . . . I might as well die.  
  
As she stared up at the sky, she noticed some flashing lights just on the edge of her vison. Adjusting her gaze she noticed the Ferris wheel, the ride that had helped contributed to this new, extremely potent feeling of hers. She gazed at it, pondering, the gears in her head clicking as they spun. She knew what she wanted to do.  
  
***  
  
Sei ran, no flew up the stairs to the roof. She shouldn't have even been able to get up there! He thought to himself. I shouldn't have even been able to get into the school! He nearly hit the landing face first when the realization hit him like a bullet from a gunshot. There's a play going on in the auditorium tonight! So they had to leave the main entrance open! Sei hit his palm into the side of his head, cursed, and continued his flight up the stairs.  
  
***  
  
Tomo's eyes were blank as she balanced on the edge between life and death. She wavered there, contemplating her next move.  
  
All she could see was Shiori kissing Sei. That moment played over and over again in front of her eyes, and it seemed like it would go on for eternity. The tears poured out like a steady stream and she had stopped bothering to wipe them away a long time ago. They fell, unobstructed from her cheeks and onto the pavement five stories below.  
  
The door to the roof slammed into the wall beside it, but she didn't jump in fright, she didn't even notice, and the tears didn't stop.  
  
Sei . . . Sei . . . I thought I could trust you . . . I thought . . . I thought I finally found someone I could talk to, someone who had understood me . . . But now . . . Now I realize that was all a lie. She was right, I though she was lying, but she was right . . . You still love her, Sei, and . . . and . . . I'm sorry that I got in the way . . . I guess I was just fooling myself, loving you . . . And now . . . Now all there is . . . is darkness . . .   
  
***  
  
"TOMO!" Sei screamed, even though he was out of breath. "Tomo! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! God, I'm sorry! It's not what it seems, I swear it! I swear it on my life! Please, step down!"  
  
She didn't hear him. She couldn't. She was still seeing him kiss Shiori, she was still hearing the nighttime sounds of the amusement park, and the tears were still flowing down her cheeks.  
  
"Tomo! Shiru, Tomo! Please! Oh, God, PLEASE listen to me! She kissed me! I didn't kiss her! I don't love her, Tomo, I love you!" Sei couldn't believe that he had finally admitted it. He had clasped a hand over his mouth when he realized he had said it, in shock, of course, but realizing that was useless he tore the hand away.  
  
She shook her head a little. The image of Shiori and Sei started to fade a bit. She was beginning to hear the buzz of the night time bugs as the amusement park slipped away. She could faintly hear someone . . . calling to her?  
  
"TOMO! Please, listen! Oh, God, can you even hear me?!" Sei had fallen to his knees in despair, but was quickly climbing to his feet again. This was useless. He needed to be more drastic. This just wasn't working. He ran up to her and threw his arms around her. He was crying now too.  
  
"Tomo," he whispered. His voice was hoarse from screaming. "Tomo, please, please get down. I'm sorry. I truly am. But honest to God it wasn't what it looked like." He buried his face in the back of her shirt. I can't lose you. I've already lost so much.  
  
Suddenly the amusement park vanished completely from her eyes, and the night time scene of the school appeared before them. Confused for a moment, she looked down and realized she was standing on the edge of the roof. Oh, God, how'd I get here . . . I . . . I don't even remember anything . . . at all . . . about getting here . . . I must've really wanted to jump . . . but, what . . . What snapped me out of it?  
  
Tomo looked around, noticing nothing she was a little puzzled, but then she felt the arms around her waist. She struggled to twist around to look behind her and paled at what she saw.  
  
"S-Sei?" She realized she had been crying when her eyes, already filled with tears, once again overflowed down onto her cheeks. She remembered now. Remembered the scene that had haunted her for . . . she didn't know how long . . . It could have been minutes . . . hours . . . years even, she didn't know, but she remembered it well.  
  
Her eyes faded again. "Let go of me, Sei."  
  
She could feel him shake his head, but could barely hear the squeak of his"no."  
  
"I know you still love Shiori, I saw what you did," her tears just wouldn't stop, but her voice wasn't choked. Was she going numb?  
  
She could still feel him shaking his head. Was he denying the whole thing?  
  
"Sei, I saw you!" she yelled. "You kissed her," her voice cracked as she said it. The tears increased. "You kissed her and it wasn't just a regular kiss . . . Let me go, Sei. I'm not yours. Let me go."  
  
She could've sworn she heard sobs coming from behind her . . . And was her T-shirt getting moist? No, it had to be her imagination.  
  
"Don't go . . . ," she heard him whisper. "Please, don't leave me."  
  
"Why?" she looked out over the courtyard of the school, at the view the roof gave. "You have Shiori. You don't need me."  
  
She tried loosening his hands from around her waist, but he only increased the strength of his grip.  
  
"Tomo . . . Tomo . . . I love you, not Shiori . . . What you saw, . . . ," he sobbed. "What you saw was merely an act of her jealousy!...Tomo, we didn't even kiss when we were going out! The first one I ever kissed was you, Tomo. It was you! Because . . . because I love you, Tomo . . . I don't love Shiori . . . I almost hate Shiori now, but it's more like I feel sorry for her, for what she did came from desperation and shows how shallow she truly is . . . Please Tomo. Please, step down . . . I . . . I don't think I'll be able to take it if you leave me. I'll probably end up joining you."  
  
Tomo would've cried more if she could have. She could hear the desperation in his voice, and the love behind it. She knew his words were true and could definately believe what he said about Shiori.  
  
She turned around and stepped down off the roof and flung her arms around him. Her eyes had gone dry from all her crying but she could feel the fresh moisture on his cheeks. He kissed her cheek and cried on her shoulder.  
  
"Tomo . . . Tomo . . . I thought I'd lost you . . . "  
  
She intertwined her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer. "And I thought I lost you too."  
  
***  
  
Rei watched from the doorway to the entrance to the roof and was a little embarrassed to run in on this scene of mutual affection. He stared at a patch of the roof until he noticed them break apart out of the corner of his eye, and even then he didn't approach them, he waited until they walked over toward him.  
  
***  
  
The announcement for all people to leave the park because it was closing soon had come at least an hour ago and already they were starting to turn off the lights on the rides and the street lamps. She had watched the janitors pick up the trash and the mechanics shut down the rides. Finally, the park was getting dark. Now was time for her to do what she had been waiting for.  
  
Shiori stepped out of the patch of woods behind the Ferris wheel and gazed up at it, up to the very top. Now was her chance.  
  
***  
  
A/N: When Sei notices that Shiori has not accompanied Rei to the school, Tomo is the one that gets a little worried. Even though he is still disturbed about what she did earlier, they were still friends, and he still did care about her. After Rei told him what happened when he left, Sei got even more nervous, and Tomo started to panic. Shiori was totally unpredictable and only God knew what she would do now.  
  
Next Chapter . . . Chapter 11: The Final Heartbreak 


	11. Chapter 11: The Final Heartbreak

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 11: The Final Heartbreak  
  
Sei looked startled when he noticed Rei in the doorway, but Rei just smiled and said "hi."  
  
Sei looked around Rei with a confused look on his face, Rei returned the look. "What?"  
  
"Where's Shiori?"  
  
Rei sighed. "Still at the amusement park. I left her there. I can't stand her! To think she had the nerve to do something like that! I told her to get out of my face, that I never wanted to see her again. And I kind-of slapped her across the face. I was just so pissed to see her do something like that, I mean, I could even see what was going on between you and Tomo, and then she went and did that anyway! That just really pissed me off."  
  
Tomo looked horrified. "You slapped her?!"  
  
Rei looked a little ashamed. "Yeah, I kind-of lost control for a moment."  
  
Tomo's eyes went blank and she clasped her hands over her mouth. Sei couldn't figure out why she was so worried. Of course, Shiori would be upset, but she'd get over it, right?  
  
Tomo shook her head to clear it briefly, then she looked to Rei. "We have to get back to the amusement park."  
  
Sei looked at his watch, pressing the button to make it glow green. "No time, it's already closed. In fact, it's almost been an hour since it closed."  
  
The look of worry on Tomo's face intensified. Rei was confused. "Why are you so worried about her?! Look what she did! Don't you think she deserved this?!"  
  
Tomo had to look at the patch of the roof between her feet for a moment. She did deserve some type of reprimand for what she did, but this might have been too much.  
  
Tomo brought her head up, shaking it to express her view. "No. Don't you see? Sei realized she was jealous, right?"  
  
Sei nodded his head. Rei hesitantly nodded his, not sure where this was going.  
  
"Well, think about it. If she was upset then because she didn't have one of you, think about how she must feel right now! She lost both!"  
  
Now Sei had adopted her previous expression and Rei looked a bit worried, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.  
  
"Well, shit! What do we do now?" said Rei  
  
"We have to get back to the amusement park," said Tomo, calmly.  
  
"We can't get in now. It's probably looked up for the night! It's not like they're just going to let us in after hours!"  
  
"Who said we were going to be let in?" Sei and Tomo looked at Rei. He was grinning, but it didn't last long. "Come on, I got an idea."  
  
***  
  
Less than fifteen minutes later they had managed to arrive at the park by taxi, instead of taking the bus and running half the way, and had managed to climb over the fence that went through the woods that bordered three fourths of the park.  
  
"Rei, how did you know we could get through that way?" said Sei as they ran away from the fence into the main part of the park.  
  
"How else did you think I spent so much time here?"  
  
Sei sighed and slapped his hand against his forehead.  
  
"They were going to expand the park, but they never got around to it, that's why the fence isn't that strong or heavily guarded."  
  
"Wow. You actually use that brain for something other than hitting on girls, Rei? Impressive." And oddly enough, it was Tomo that said it. Rei looked at her and smiled.  
  
"Of course, if I didn't, then it could just rot away. Then what would I do when it came to racing? I'm sure one of the qualifications is having a working brain."  
  
They all smiled and laughed a bit. At least they had managed to lighten the mood a fraction. It had begun to get unbearably heavy.  
  
"Okay," said Tomo, stopping when they reached the center of the park. "Most likely, where would she be?"  
  
Rei named off random rides they want on and parts of the park they had explored. Then it hit him, as he scanned the park, looking at the rides, for some type of clue.  
  
"The Ferris wheel, that's when she started acting really odd," said Rei. "She must've seen something that really got her going."  
  
Tomo and Sei blushed. "Well, then we have to check there first!" said Tomo, grabbing Sei's arm in one hand and Rei's in the other, nearly dragging them there.  
  
Several yards away they slowed down and started scanning the perimeter around the Ferris wheel and the Ferris wheel itself."  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Rei noticed a shadow lurking about on one of the higher beams of the Ferris wheel.  
  
"Sei, Tomo, I think I see her. She's up there, on one of the higher beams on the Ferris wheel."  
  
Tomo and Sei looked up to see a distorted human shadow lurking about on the heights of the ride.  
  
"Shiori!" Rei called up to her, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Shiori, please come down! I'm sorry for what I did earlier! I was angry and I lost control! Please, if you come back down, ever-"  
  
"No!" yelled Shiori as she grabbed onto one of the smaller beams that was perpendicular to the one she was on. "I've lost everything I cared about and now I have nothing left."Tomo noticed her voice starting to choke up and she could've sworn she heard a sob. She was crying.  
  
Tomo then felt Shiori's eyes upon her and when she felt them leave she realized that she had jumped.  
  
"Shiori!" Rei yelled. They all raced forward, but none of them were soon enough. Beside that, they could barely see her fall in the first place, but when they finally got close enough to the Ferris wheel, they spotted her. There was no way she could've survived. The blood was an ever widening pool spreading out from her head.  
  
For a moment Tomo's vision wavered, and as it went black she could faintly hear the sound of someone throwing up only a few feet away.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Our story now draws to a close. With Shiori now out of the picture, what will happen to the new bond between Sei and Tomo, and how will Rei deal with the loss of his more-than-close friend, Shiori. As the ambulance comes to carry Shiori's body away, Tomo can't help but wonder where her life will go because of this.  
  
Next Chapter....Chapter 12: A New Loss, A New Friendship 


	12. Chapter 12: A New Loss, A New Friendship

Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny  
  
Chapter 12: A New Loss, A New Friendship  
  
When Tomo awoke a few minutes later, Rei was gone, but his lunch wasn't, and the arms that were holding her were shaking violently.  
  
Tomo realized that she was on the ground, and was being support by the one sitting behind her. I must've fainted. Tomo thought to herself. Then her eyes wandered and found the mess that was Shiori. And now I remember why, she thought, as she tore her eyes away.  
  
She looked up at the one who was supporting her. They were in a kneeling position, and she was leaning against the side of their legs, her upper torso and head resting in their lap, but being supported by their arms. One glance told her it was Sei. She had known it was him, though, but had decided to look anyway.  
  
She tried to sit up, but she felt a spell of dizziness overtake her. She rushed her hand to her head to steady herself.  
  
"Sei, where's Rei?"  
  
Sei had to swallow before he answered. He was still staring at Shiori. "He . . . He went to . . . to call an am-ambulan-lance."  
  
Tomo raised the hand she had been using to steady her head to Sei's cheek. "Calm down Sei. You're shaking."  
  
Sei closed his eyes and dropped his head. "I've," he sighed. "I've been trying," he opened his eyes and looked at her. "But I just can't stop."  
  
Tomo sat up and then knelt next to him so she could throw her arms around him, embracing him, trying to get him to stop shaking. He held her tightly in return and took him a good while to finally calm down.  
  
By the time he did, the ambulance had just arrived and the paramedics had told them to back away as they checked Shiori's vitals. Tomo and Sei watched at the paramedic shook his head and as they threw a sheet over her and placed her on the stretcher.   
  
After they had closed the door to the ambulance and it was beginning to pull away, a police officer approached the two teenagers who were still kneeling by the scene, their eyes fixed on the patch of bloodied dirt, the place where their friend had once laid.  
  
He cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Miss, Sir, would you two like a ride home?" Tomo looked over in the direction of the voice, and when she spotted him, she looked him in the eyes and nodded her head.   
  
"And his brother will need one too. He was the one that called you guys."  
  
The police officer nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. He's already in the car. Come on, let's go."  
  
Tomo nodded and whispered something to Sei. He stood up, and, grasping Tomo's hand, walked with her to the car.  
  
***  
  
The officer asked Rei where he lived and then for directions to his house. Rei gave them in a monotone voice, but thanked the officer when he dropped them off.  
  
Sei got out of the car, holding Tomo's hand, waiting for her to come out with him, but she stayed seated in the car.   
  
The officer looked back at them. "What's wrong, Miss?"  
  
"I don't live her, and my Mom will kill me if she found out that I spent the night at a boy's house." Tomo looked down at her lap. "I have to go home."  
  
The officer noticed the pleading look the boy was giving the girl, so he got up out of the car, shut the door behind him, and started walking up to the front of the house where Rei was, unlocking the door.  
  
"Excuse me Sir, would you mind if I used your telephone?"  
  
Rei shook his head, and the police officer took off his cap as he entered the house. Rei went in second, followed by Sei and Tomo.   
  
The officer picked up the phone. "Now, what's your number, Miss?"  
  
Tomo told him her number and he quickly dialed it. "Hello?...Well, hello Mrs. Shiru . . . No, no your daughter's fine...What?...Oh, well, there was an incident with one of her friends, and I'm afraid that the young girl didn't survive . . .   
  
Yes, yes, it truly is a shame . . . Hmm?...Oh, well, I'm calling to see if she could stay here, at the Kashino residence, for the night, she's a bit shaken up and it would probably help her to spend some time with her friends. Is that okay with you, Mrs. Shiru?...It is?...," the cop smiled and looked at Tomo. "Okay, good . . . What?...No, no, don't worry, she's fine . . . Yes . . . Okay, thank you. Bye." The cop waited a second and then hung up the phone.  
  
"Okay, you're good," the cop said with a smile. "And I truly am sorry about your friend."  
  
"Yes. Well, thank you."  
  
"Oh, no problem!" He grinned. "Take care!" he said, as he left the house, Rei shutting the door behind him. They waved good bye to him through the window and then they all went and settled on the couch.  
  
Sei sat in the middle and Shiru sat to one side of him, leaning her head against his shoulder. He put his arm around her and brought her closer to him. Rei sat on the other side of Sei with a spaced out look on his face.  
  
Within an hour, exhaustion had taken them and they all ended up in a deep sleep still sitting on the couch together.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, a stray ray on sunlight that had snuck through a crack in the blinds woke Tomo up. She was the first to wake, and confused at first.   
  
She was sitting on a couch in a house she'd never been in before with Sei's arm around her shoulders, then the memories of the night before engulfed her mind like a massive flood. Her kiss, Shiori's kiss, the roof, the Ferris wheel, the blood, the cop car . . . The barrage of memories helped her figure out where she was now, but also reminded her of how she got there.  
  
She looked over at Sei and Rei. Rei had fallen asleep leaning against his brother and she had fallen asleep leaning against Sei. Well, Sei must've not minded much, or given in because from what she saw, he was asleep to. She grinned, and nuzzled her head into his shoulder.  
  
No sooner had she done this, the phone rang. Startled, Rei found himself by the phone before he was even fully awake.  
  
"Hello . . . Yes, this is Rei . . . Oh, hi . . . When?...Oh, okay . . . Yeah, I'm fine . . . No, really, I'm okay . . . Yeah . . . K...Thanks . . . Bye."  
  
"Who was that?" Sei had woken now as well.  
  
"It was Shiori's mom," said Rei as he hung up the receiver. "The wake's tomorrow at three, and the funeral is going to be a couple days later at four. Both are going to be closed-casket."  
  
Rei walked over and resumed his seat net to Sei.  
  
"Now what?" he asked.  
  
Tomo looked from Rei to Sei, to the phone, and then back to them again and smiled.  
  
Her smile turned to a grin when she noticed that Sei was smiling back at her. Then she couldn't help it, she started laughing. Maybe all the tension was getting to her, or maybe she just subconsciously wanted to change the mood.  
  
Then Rei began to smile as well, "Hey, what's so funny?" And with that, Sei joined in on her laughter.  
  
"Come on, guys," he said, still smiling. "Do I have something stuck in my teeth, on my shirt, or do I truly look that funny?" Now he was laughing as well, and Sei and Tomo were laughing harder.  
  
She could tell that from this point on they were going to be good friends. Even though it was kind-of morbid that it had came around by these means.   
  
A new friendship had dawned between them and anyone could see that it was starting out strong, and much better, than their last one.  
  
***  
  
THE END 


End file.
